The left this week has indeed unleashed two of its most caustic canines, both of whom are yapping at the heels of President Bush. Both were guilty of the crime they so often level at his administration: using the Iraq War for political purposes.

Al Gore, in his latest diatribe once again railed at the president and compared his supporters to members of a group that once served a certain dead European chancellor. This was just the latest leg on Gore’s Tragical History Tour; a trip to tedium with a few stops at delusion along the way.

Among his usual rants were charges of lying about Iraq and abuses of power. But, as some like to say, there was a new tone in Washington this week where Al launched another pre-emptive strike at the administration. After his throaty tirade in New York last month, many agreed that he had finally gone round the bend. Actually, his delivery reminded me of a certain dead European chancellor.

Gone though, was this beer-hall, muck-raising approach. Gone too was the Billy Sunday mode we’d all enjoyed so much throughout the years. Here now was a new Al; staid, soft-spoken and statesman-like, sporting a professorial mien, if not the beard. But the peaceful mantle could not hide the message nor cloak the messenger and his backers.

He has often spoken under the banner of MOVEON, a left wing organization partially funded by George Soros, that was responsible for the Bush-is-Hitler ads that the RNC is now using in their ads. This quaint little group, whose website features a black-hooded Statue of Liberty, only recently had their link removed from the site of Communist Party USA, another bunch dedicated to the removal of George W. Bush.

Add to these, the omnipresent auteur Michael Moore who unleashed his latest work of artless Bush-bashing that is Fahrenheit 9/11. A liberal friend of mine offered to pay my way into our local theater for my edification, but I declined, secure in the knowledge that the ticket price of ten dollars would be better spent on the four beers that would provide a more useful, as well as a tastier, mind-enhancing experience.

Just as I don’t need more than a toe in the water to know that it’s cold, I don’t need to sit through two tinfoil-hatted hours being hit over the head with Moore’s (and Gore’s) message: That it is George W. Bush; and not Sadaam Hussein, not Osama bin Laden, not Abu al Zarqawi; nor is it Al Qaeda or Iraq-based Ansar al Islam or the rest of the bloodthirsty cult of Islamist monsters who threaten the peace and security of the world.

And Moore is not alone. Other groups such as UPJ (United For Peace and Justice) and A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism)--who admit support for those ‘resisting the occupation’ and killing our troops--are aligned with old commie favorites like the Workers World Party.

The question then is, are members of these groups and those that speak under their sponsorship unpatriotic America-haters? As one who has observed some of their protests up-close-and-personally, I can tell you that their level of hatred for this country and its military is chilling in its scope. At a recent anti-war march in DC, not one un-desecrated American flag could be seen, yet there were dozens of banners representing Hamas, Hezbollah and other murderous groups.

As for the creator of Fahrenheit 9/11, the recent Moore-gasms exhibited lately at the Cannes Film Festival should provide a big clue. Here is a man who lauds the fact that his millions have been made from those he considers “possibly the dumbest people on the planet,” that is, the American public.

Then there’s this little number from his own website: ''The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not 'insurgents' or 'terrorists' or 'The Enemy.' They are the REVOLUTION, the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow -- and they will win.''

Yet in his movie, he trades on the grief of a woman whose son was killed by the “Minuteman” he so callously roots for. This in itself is an abomination. Worse still is a list of Democratic luminaries who turned out for the film’s DC premiere. Among those lending legitimacy to his endeavor were; Senators Fritz Hollings and Tom Harkin, Congressman Charles Rangel and DNC Chairman and head rotweiller Terry McAuliffe.

If mainstream Democrats want to hitch their wagon to the ravings of Al Gore and his MOVEON enablers and seek to gain a perverse hipness by endorsing the America-bashing Moore, they will sink further into the political sunset.

And if the dogs of anti-war continue to bark, they will, like most strays, soon be panting by the curbside as they are left in the dust by the Bush ‘04 express.

Lisa Fabrizio